The Warriors barged into Milwaukee Friday night and immediately avenged their worst loss of the season, jumping the Bucks early and carving out a 105-95 victory at sold-out Fiserv Forum.
That was enough for the Warriors to salvage a winning road trip after losing the first two of five games.
Neither Stephen Curry nor Kevin Durant submitted their usual production, but the role players and reserves were tremendous and carried the night.
Here are three quick takeaways from the finale of a road trip that ended 3-2:
They followed their defense
The Warriors this season have had a tendency to start slowly, entering the second quarter with a lead in only three of their last 13 games.
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Make that four of their last 14.
They opened with a defensive intensity rarely seen without Draymond Green. Playing aggressive man-to-man defense and switching smoothly, they held the Bucks to 8-of-27 shooting (29.6 percent) from the field to take a 27-22 lead.
The Warriors limited the Bucks to 39.6 percent shooting for the night, including 7-of-39 (18.4 percent) from beyond the arc. Milwaukee entered the game leading the league in scoring (121.1 points per game) and made 3-pointers (14.6 per game).
It was defense, more than any other factor, which allowed the Warriors to overcome 18 turnovers, off which Milwaukee scored 26 points.
The Warriors proved yet again that when they are fully engaged on defense, it's almost impossible to beat them.
Triples, triples and more triples
One of the more frequent topics of debate in the NBA this season is whether the Warriors shoot enough 3-pointers.
It wasn't much of a debate on this night.
Firing off a season-high 46 shots from deep, the Warriors drained 19 of them. Five different players made at least three triples: Jonas Jerebko, Klay Thompson and Curry all shot 4-of-9, while Alfonzo McKinnie was 3-of-7 and Andre Iguodala 3-of-6.
[RELATED: Kerr explains how McKinnie's absence can be good in long run]
It's tough to imagine the Warriors being so deadly from deep on a night when Durant was 1-of-6.
On the whole, this game is a strong argument for the Warriors launching more frequently from beyond the arc.
Iguodala delivers on demand
With Curry's production down dramatically and Durant struggling to make shots, the Warriors had a serious need to find scoring from other sources.
That's where Iguodala came in.
Iguodala scored a season-high 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-6 from deep. The 10 field goal attempts also were a season high. He started at small forward, played 26 minutes and finished plus-2.
For good measure, Iguodala grabbed eight rebounds -- also a season high.
He has a knack for providing what's needed at any given time, particularly in high-profile games. He was aggressive on offense from the start and never backed off.
